The Rangers have signed 39-year old lefty reliever Darren Oliver to a 1-year deal worth $3.5 million bucks with a vesting option for the 2011 season worth $2.75 million bucks. Oliver pitched in 63 games (1 start) for the Angels last season and he was 5-1 with a 2.71 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. This will be the Oliver’s second go around with the Rangers. He pitched 8 years early in his career with the Rangers working in 192 games (137 starts) in which he was 54-47 with 2 saves, a 5.28 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. But, Oliver has really been solid since working out of the bullpen the last few years so I really like this signing for the Rangers. I like it because it helps the Rangers while hurting the Angels at the same time. Oliver has now pitched in 16 years in his major league career working in 529 games (229 starts) in which he is 106-83 with 2 saves, a 4.75 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.

The Rangers have signed 28-year old switch hitting infielder Ray Olmedo to a minor league deal. Olmedo played in 115 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 103 for 412 (.250 avg, .625 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 6 homers, 47 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He last played in the majors during the 2007 season with the Blue Jays. Olmedo has played in 198 games in his major league career and he is 92 for 403 (.228 avg, .569 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 2 homers, 26 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. This was a organizational depth signing for the Rangers.

The Rangers have signed 33-year old righty reliever Geoff Geary to a minor league deal. Geary pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Astros last season and he was 1-3 with a 8.10 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. He has now pitched in 287 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 16-10 with 1 save, a 3.92 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Geary has been a effective middle reliever in the past so it’s very possible that he could help the Rangers in 2010.

The Rangers have signed 28-year old righty starting pitcher Rich Harden to a 1-year, $7.5 million dollar deal with a option for the 2011 season worth $11.5 million bones. Harden pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Cubs last season and he was 9-9 with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He whiffed 171 batters in only 141 innings last season while only allowing 122 hits which shows that his stuff is still nasty. Harden has now pitched in 135 games (127 starts) in his 7-year major league career and he is 50-29 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He only has allowed 603 hits in 753 2/3 innings in his career while whiffing 783 batters. Harden has a much bigger upside than Millwood does but he gets injured a lot. If Harden can stay healthy the Rangers have just inked a #1 starter.

The Rangers have traded 34-year old righty starting pitcher Kevin Millwood and $3 million bucks to the Orioles for 27-year old righty reliever Chris Ray. Millwood was very solid for the Rangers last season pitching in 31 games (all starts) in which he was 13-10 with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Millwood pitched four years for the Rangers working in 125 games (all starts) in which he was 48-46 with a 4.57 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Chris Ray was more than a fair return for the Rangers as he has been a great pitcher when healthy which he wasn’t last night. Ray pitched in 46 games (0 starts) for the Orioles last season and he was 0-4 with a 7.27 ERA and a 2.01 WHIP. He has now pitched 4 years in the majors working in 191 games (0 starts) in which he was 10-17 with 49 saves, a 4.11 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Ray has the ability to pitch late in ball games for the Rangers if he can just stay healthy. The Rangers might now try to sign a starter in free agency to replace Millwood in the rotation.

UPDATE: The Rangers have also acquired the Orioles’ first round pick in the Rule 5 Draft to complete this trade.

UPDATE II: The Rangers have acquired 24-year old lefty reliever/starter Benjamin Snyder to complete this trade. Snyder was selected from the San Francisco Giants. Snyder pitched in 34 games (5 starts) in AA-ball last year and he was 4-4 with 1 save, a 2.88 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has now pitched in 105 games (68 starts) in his 4-year minor league career and he is 33-19 with 2 saves, a 2.98 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Snyder will likely have a decent chance of sticking with the Rangers out of the bullpen in 2010 if he has a strong spring.

The Rangers have acquired 28-year old lefty reliever Clay Rapada from the Tigers for a player to be named later. Rapada pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. He has now pitched in 33 games (0 starts) in his three years in the majors and he is 3-0 with a 4.94 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. Rapada’s pitching in AAA-ball is what likely caught the eye of the Rangers as he worked in 42 games (0 starts) in which he was 4-2 with 5 saves, a 2.76 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The Rangers needed bullpen help so it was worth taking a flier on Rapada as the price was right.

A lot of teams are calling the Rangers about Nelson Cruz and Kevin Millwood but they will probably resist trading them unless they are overwhelmed. The Rangers would be smart to steer clear of bringing back Milton Bradley despite rumors that they and the Cubs are talking about him. He is a team cancer. The Rangers also might move one of their young catchers if it brings them back some much needed middle relief help. On the free agent front look for the Rangers to focus on cheap bullpen arms.

The Rangers have claimed 31-year old lefty swinging IF/OF Joe Inglett off waivers from the Blue Jays. Inglett played in 36 games for the Blue Jays last year and he was 25 for 89 (.281 avg, .685 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 211 games in his four years in the majors and he is 187 for 639 (.293 avg, .745 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 5 homers, 68 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. This was a good pick-up for the Rangers as Inglett can play anywhere but pitcher and catcher.

UPDATE: The Rangers have designated Joe Inglett for assignment to make room on the roster for Colby Lewis. The signing of Khalil Greene also doomed Inglett’s time in Texas.

27-year old righty swinging 2B Ian Kinsler finished in a tie for 26th with Felix Hernandez for the A.L. MVP Award. Kinsler played in 144 games for the Rangers last season and he was 143 for 566 (.253 avg, .814 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 31 homers, 86 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. He has now played 4 years with the Rangers appearing in 515 games in which he is 556 for 1,990 (.279 avg, .827 OPS) with 364 runs scored, 83 homers, 273 RBIs and 91 stolen bases. The sky is the limit for Kinsler as long as he can just stay healthy and last year showed that when he was a 30/30 man.

33-year old righty swinging 3B Michael Young finished 16th for the A.L. MVP Award. He played in 135 games for the Rangers and he was 174 for 541 (.322 avg, .892 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 22 homers, 68 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Young has now played in 1,351 games in his 10 years with the Rangers and he is 1,662 for 5,501 (.302 avg, .798 OPS) with 819 runs scored, 137 homers, 720 RBIs and 77 stolen bases. Young made a seamless transition to 3B from SS last season and he would have finished much higher in the voting if he wouldn’t have hurt himself late in the year.